How to find Instagram influencers for your Business (in 2021)

By QuikPlace | May 7, 2021

Started just a decade ago in 2010, Instagram today has become huge! Currently having more than a billion users worldwide, its popularity is such that about half of these users use it daily. This makes Instagram a powerful marketing tool where you can get to the right people, at the right time with the right stuff.

Although Instagram isn’t the largest social network, it is still one of the great platforms to market your product and service to the right people in an efficient and cost-friendly medium. Hire Instagram Influencers is one of the best ways to promote your wares through Instagram. In this blog post, we are going to see,

How to find Instagram influencers

Step 1 - Understand your target audience

Based on who uses your products, you have to create buyer personas(profiles) of the people who could be interested in your products. For example, if you are selling trendy sports shoes, your target audience includes those aged 15-30. This means you can target teenagers, college-goers and young professionals who wear trendy sports shoes both for physical activities and to keep up with fashion trends.

The 15-30 age group is a wide audience. To further target all buyer personas(profiles) within this target audience, you can look out for influencers popular with each of these buyer personas. This will give you an idea of the number and type of influencers your marketing campaign needs.

Step 2 - Match your brand’s personality with a suitable influencer

Each brand has its very own personality or brand voice. This depends on who and where the target audience uses it. For example, a brand like Nike emphasizes fitness as a personality trait while a sports car emphasizes an adventurous personality.

Marketing experts think that those who endorse your brand should have a ‘compatible personality’ that matches the brand. For example, a young fitness coach who posts the right way of exercising could be compatible to push trendy sports shoes to young professionals under the age of 30. In addition to this, he should also have a decent number of followers on Instagram of the right target audience.

Step 3 - Research your OWN followers to spot potential compatible influencers

To start with, research your followers to see if anyone from them can act as an influencer for your products. Do ensure to double-check their credentials and how much they interact with your content. They should have a decent following and see if they are active on Instagram consistently. When you have someone who already knows about your product, why not take full advantage of this?

Step 4 - Research relevant hashtags to Hire Instagram Influencers for your brand

A social media marketing strategy cannot be planned without hashtags. They come in various types- industry-specific hashtags, current affair hashtags, branded hashtags, technical hashtags and even marketing hashtags. You got to follow the relevant hashtags and make a list of all those people who fulfill your criteria to become the face of your brand.
While searching for these hashtags, also see who has been posting relevant content for such hashtags. This could be celebrities, doctors, hobbyists or other major influencers who you can target. Check their number of followers and engagement of their posts.

Step 5 - Consult Google and check what your competitors are up to

Obvious, isn’t it? Check the Instagram handles of your competitors. Check who follows them and which influencers work for them. You can also find out those people who interact with your competitors and who you can convince to shift base.

Step 6 - Take help of influencer marketing tools

There are now many tools that marketers can use to find and work with niche influencers. These ‘influencer marketplaces’ and tools help to get you the right Instagram influencer that works for your brand. These are a real help if you are looking to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

Step 7 - Check for performance and ensure there are no irregularities

Irrespective of your influencer’s profile, many can scam you, even if you have done your homework and have found the influencer an ideal fit. This is the sad reality of today’s youth. You have to make sure your influencer is held accountable for each penny you have paid him.

Some employ black-hat techniques to increase likes artificially, fake engagement and sometimes their whole Instagram profile itself. Double-check to ensure the people you work with are genuine and that they will be a great help to market your products.

One thing is sure though, finding the right influencer can take a lot of time. You will fall and learn from your mistakes, but will surely get what you are looking for. Influencer marketing is the best way you can tap the word-of-mouth marketing campaigns that are so important.